There is no hard and fast rule dictating whether or not you should take your passport into port or leave it in the safe.  For most ports you will not need your passport, a photo ID and sail and sign card will suffice.  However there are some ports which require you to bring your passport off the ship.  In these rare instances the ship will inform you of the need to carry your passport. Those ports are the exception more than the rule which leads us back to the original question, should you bring your passport or leave it on board the ship?

Leave your passport onboard

The argument against carrying a passport off the ship usually centers on the belief that it could get lost or stolen.  This is a valid argument and especially comes into play if you will be doing more than just strolling around town.  There are plenty of stories floating around about items stolen while on an excursion or bags being emptied out on the beach.  These days you even have to worry about being held-up and robbed. Although small, the chance that you could be separated from your passport is real.  People who succumb to this train of thing will tell you the world is evil and that you should keep your passport locked safely in your cabin safe.

Bring your passport along

The arguments for bringing it along tend to be from those worried about missing the ship after a day in port.  The belief is if this situation arose you would need your passport in order to fly to the next port or back home.  A driver’s license is an acceptable for of ID in the United States but outside of the U.S. it isn’t worth the plastic it’s printed on. If you find yourself in legal trouble in a foreign country you will want to have your passport in hand. Champions of this school of thought will tell you, “You carry your driver’s license when you drive, so carry your passport when you travel”.

A Happy Medium

What some people do is carry a copy of their passport along with them.  While this will give you peace of mind, the truth is, if you do miss the ship a copy of your passport will not allow you to fly home.   If you are an American in the Caribbean you probably wouldn’t need your passport to catch the ship at the next port.  You can travel freely between most of the islands sans passport.  The bad news is, without a passport you can forget about re-entering the United States. However, you could (at least in theory) take that copy to the U.S. Embassy in whichever country you were stranded and it would help you expedite the process of getting home.

Do you carry your passport off the ship or leave it in the safe?  Why?

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According to a press statement issued by the Virgin Islands Department of tourism, the Virgin Islands Police Department has increased the police presence in tourist areas. In other words you’ll see more officers at the cruise port, historical attractions, popular sightseeing spots and the beaches. This is definitely a step in the right direction. The Coki Point area (where the shooting took place) in particular has been targeted for cleanup.

In addition to the above mentioned changes there will be more careful monitoring of visitor movement and the 24 hour surveillance cameras in town will be upgraded and constantly monitored.  Anyone taking a cruise to St. Thomas in the near future will notice that Department of tourism greeters will be available at the Cruise Port in order to answer any questions you may have.

While I won’t pretend that crime and violence in the Caribbean is unheard of, incidents of this magnitude are an abnormal occurrence.  Violence happens everywhere and although we label these areas as paradise they too are subject to the same problems that plague the rest of the world.  Much like Aruba and the Natalee Holloway tragedy, the powers that be realize that headlines like this can completely destroy their main industry, which in turns would kill their economy.  There are too many islands which have everything St. Thomas offers and too much at stake for there to be anything but swift and decisive actions to improve safety, we will all be watching how this situation shakes out.

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The good news is…

No matter how safe (or unsafe) cruise ships were in the past, they are about to get a whole lot safer.   A new bill has been passed by the Senate that would require cruise ships to improve their onboard security, dramatically.   Authored by Rep. Doris Matsui D-California and Sen. John Kerry D-Mass would require that all ships docking in U.S. ports comply with the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act.

What changes will be made?

• All cruise ships will now be required to report any crimes, suspicious deaths and missing persons to the US Coast guard and FBI immediately whether they occur at sea or in port.    Additionally crime scenes will need to be preserved.
• All crime statistics will include the number and type of crimes will now be made available to the public.
• Passengers will now be made aware of their rights and given literature detailing the ships response systems for both criminal and medical issues.
• Stateroom doors will need to be equipped with both peepholes and safety latches.
• Rails will be required to be at least 42 inches in height and ships will be required to use video surveillance cameras in nearly all parts of the ship.
• Ships will also need to carry a forensic assault specialist and rape kits onboard the ship.  Additionally, any rape victims will be provided with access to an 800 number which gives them access to an outside sexual assault organization not affiliated with the cruise ship.

Failure to comply with the new bill will result in serious penalties including heavy fines and not being allowed to enter American waters.  Many of the requirements were already implemented by the cruise ship industry but with the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act it will no longer be voluntary.

The cruise ship security bill has already passed the Senate and now just awaits the signature of President Obama.

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What I have attempted to do was educate you on what hurricane season is, what to expect when sailing during hurricane season and how to best protect your investment in the vacation. The main points you need to take away from all of this are:

• The Cruise Lines will do everything in their power to keep you away from any tropical storms which may be active at the time of sailing
• Travel Insurance as well as precautions such as tracking the storms and maintaining contact with the cruise line is imperative
• There are bargains galore to be found during hurricane season
• The main worry when traveling during hurricane season is getting to the cruise ship
• A cruise ship is so much safer during hurricane season than any land based vacation in the same area of travel

For any of you wondering if I practice what I preach, let me just say that I will be taking a cruise during hurricane season for the second consecutive year. In fact, this time I will be traveling during the most active period (mid August to be precise). I booked my cruise mainly because the timing was right and the price was one I couldn’t resist. When weighing my options it made perfect sense. I am not going to let the threat of a storm rain on my parade and neither should you.

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Don’t Cancel Newspaper or Postal Deliveries – Although many people will tell you to halt newspaper or mail delivery while on vacation, these people are wrong.  First of all if a Royal Caribbean vacation planner can use inside information to burglarize a house a postal employee or newspaper delivery person can use that same knowledge against you.  The other reason is because if someone has been casing your house, its better if to see mail get delivered and then picked up than seeing it not get delivered at all.

Have a house sitter move in while you are away- This is my preferred method of vacation time theft deterrent.  The best way to make your house appear to be lived in is to make certain that it is being lived in.  In my opinion responsible college students are the best for this type of job, since adults normally would need to leave their home in order to temporarily move into yours.  College students typically live at home or with roommates so if they change residences for a week or two it normally won’t be as big a deal.  Luckily, I have a couple of family members who fit the description.

Place lights on timers – If you can’t find someone to stay at your house while gone you may want to pick up some inexpensive electrical timers.  If your home is cloaked in darkness at 8 pm it’s a sign that you aren’t home, not a big deal.  However, if your home is cloaked in darkness at 8pm for three days in a row it’s a tell tale sign that you are on vacation.  Placing your lights on a timer allows you to simulate your normal routine.  Please note that while I am a huge fan of keeping a routine no human being keeps an exact schedule, you would be well served to place at least one light on a completely random cycle just to mix things up.

Make sure all of your doors and windows are locked - This may sound stupid but the truth is a significant amount of breaking and entering occurs without the breaking part ever taking place.  Personally speaking during a large portion of the year my windows remain locked, however during certain times of year I am constantly opening and closing windows.  What this means is there is a chance that one may be inadvertently left unlocked, double check.  This also goes for sliding doors and garage entrances.

Try to keep a car in the driveway – An empty driveway is a dead giveaway that no one is home.  While you may be able to get away with having no car in the driveway during working hours if this timeframe stretches into a day or two it will get noticed.  If you have two cars keep one in the driveway and if you only have one, try to get someone to take you to their airport.

Electronic Security – An electronic security system is without a doubt one of the best investments one can make in order to keep your home safe.  This is true whether you are in town or out of town.  However, an electronic security system also represents a significant expense. Obviously, the level of expense will raise or lower depending on the level of protection as well as the type of technology used, so this may not be in everyone’s budget.  If an electronic security system isn’t in your budget hang up a sign anyway, any doubt you can place in a potential perpetrators mind could be the difference.

Stash your goodies – While it may not always be possible to use a safety deposit box or get access to a safe, if you own valuables make sure to keep them safe.  Whether that means you keep them at your mother’s home or hide them under a lose floorboard, hide your valuables. If someone does break into your house make sure your prized possessions are kept safe.

Be Friendly with your neighbors – A friendly smile and a kind word go a long way towards having your neighbors look out for you.  While we don’t necessarily have a neighborhood watch program I am fortunate enough to live around a bunch of retirees who are the type of people that come to their doors every time they hear a car drive down the street.  While at times these sorts of people can be a nuisance in the long run its good to have them on your side.

Leave discreetly – I almost always leave in the wee hours of the morning when going away on vacation.  I do this because early flights allow me to maximize my time in the arrival city and because it assures me that no one (that isn’t supposed to know) knows when or if I left.  There aren’t many people up at 4 am and those that are tend to stick out like sore thumbs.

What about when you get back from vacation

One thing that I like to do whenever possible is make sure I return home during daylight or early evening hours.  When you enter your house for the first time after being away on a vacation take note of everything and make sure nothing is out of place (assuming no one was house sitting for you).  If something looks out of whack there is probably a reason for that; either you have a crappy memory or someone has been there.

In the unfortunate event that you are robbed while away on vacation there are certain rules you will want to follow in order to help the police out as much as possible.  Even though the sight of seeing your house turned upside down will be shocking, leave the house immediately.  There are two reasons why you will want to leave.  First of all you will want to be out of harm’s way in case the burglar is still inside the house, not likely but you never know.  Secondly, you will want to preserve the crime scene as well as you can and the only way to be sure you don’t contaminate any evidence is by not touching anything at all.  So even if the ashes from a dead relative may have been knocked off the mantle, you may be letting the perpetrator escape punishment by innocently cleaning things up.

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